MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL & MAIN OFFICE NEWS

RETURN TO SCHOOL: I want to thank all of the JGW families who so promptly filled out the back to school survey earlier this week. JGW is currently working on details to bring all students back to in person school 5 days per week that have chosen to do so. Please stay tuned, as I will share with everyone once plans begin to unfold. At this time we are planning to have all 5^th & 6^th grade students back on Monday, April 12^th and 7^th & 8^th grade students back on Monday, April 26^th (Please see the district calendar attached below):

School Pictures: Picture retake day will be on Tuesday, March 23^rd (Cohort A) and Thursday, March 25^th (Cohort B). Any RLA students who want to have their pictures taken can come in between 3pm-4pm on either of those days.

HALLOWEEN IN MARCH: See Flyer Below (Prizes will be given to all winning costumes!)

APRIL VACATION ACADEMY:

NEWS FROM OUR NURSES OFFICE (Nurse Cartwright):

I want to encourage anyone who is interested to participate in covid-19 pool testing here at J. G. Whittier.  Each week, we continue with our covid-19 pool testing for any staff and student who are interested. For those who have turned in a consent form, Cohort A and C are pool tested every Tuesday morning and Cohort B is pool tested every Thursday morning. Pool testing is a tool to help detect any asymptomatic covid cases within our school. Students are able to self-swab in the lower portion of thier nose. So far, students are doing a great job of participating each week, and thanks to family and staff vigilance, we have not identified any positive cases. Should a pool of swab come back positive, students/staff would be retested with our covid antigen testing in the school to determine who in the pool was positive. If you have not completed a consent form but are interested in having your child tested, please fill out both consent forms below, and turn them in to Nurse Kelsey. If you have any questions, I can be reached via email at kelsey.cartwright@haverhill-ps.org

Consent form 1

Consent form 2

With April break approaching, please be advised of the Massachusetts travel guidelines if you plan on travelling outside of the state at all to a high risk state. All guidance can be found at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order These guidelines are subject to change so please visit this link for the most up to date guidance 

All visitors entering Massachusetts, including returning residents, who do not meet an exemption, are required to:

• Complete the Massachusetts travel form at the link below prior to arrival, unless you are visiting from a lower risk state designated by the Department of Public Health. As of right now, there are no lower risk states, but this is subject to change.
  • https://www.mass.gov/forms/massachusetts-travel-form

• Quarantine for 10 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up to 72-hours prior to your arrival in Massachusetts.

If your COVID-19 test result has not been received prior to arrival, visitors, and residents must quarantine until they receive a negative test result. If you have received a COVID-19 test result, please send results to the school nurse at kelsey.cartwright@haverhill-ps.org. It can also be faxed to 978-372-5999. 

ATTENDANCE:

CONTEST: JGW is running an Attendance Contest which began on Monday, March 1^st and will be running through Wednesday, March 31^st. The homeroom in each grade (5-8) with the highest attendance percentage for the month will win, and EACH student who has perfect attendance within that homeroom will win an individual prize from the Principal (i.e.: Large Pizza, Container of their favorite Ice-cream, box of donuts). For students who show major improvement in their attendance throughout the month of March, they can become eligible for prizes as well.

POSSIBLE STRATEGIES FOR GOOD ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

         Please review the list and choose strategies that fit your daily schedule.

• I will make attending and participating in school every day a priority.
• I will post my class schedule of classes and log-in information in a visible location near my desk or on the refrigerator.
• I will set alarms / alerts to remind myself to wake up on time and participate in classes.
• I will try to find a quiet place at home where I can participate in class and complete my school work. If I cannot, I will ask my school or community organization if they have a safe place where I can study and log into class.
• I will keep track of my attendance and absences.
• I will find a relative, friend or neighbor who can help me resolve a problem keeping me from attending or participating in school.
• If I am absent, I will contact my teachers to find out what I missed.
• I will keep healthy by wearing a mask, as needed, and getting a flu shot.
• I will set up non-sick medical and dental appointments for weekdays after school. If I must make a non-urgent medical appointment during the school day, I will try to attend school for the majority of the day.
• When I am struggling with a challenge that is keeping me from attending or participating in school I will confide in an adult at school and seek help.

• ATTENDANCE POLICY AND EXPECTATIONS: Here is a reminder of our attendance policy. In this new model of schooling where students are learning from both school and home, attendance and participation in all classes is one of our major concerns. Here are some things to know and we would greatly appreciate it if you reviewed all of these expectations and policies with your students:

• If you are absent for 10% of the school year, you are considered to be “chronically” absent. That means that if you have missed 4 or more days to this point.
• We have begun reaching out via mail with attendance letters for students that we are currently concerned are missing too much time.
• It is the expectation that all students are either present physically or signed on remotely at 8:30am each day.
• It is the requirement that students attend all of their classes for the duration of the class time. Leaving a meet/class early is equivalent to walking out of class without permission.
• In addition to sending home letters, we will also be setting up attendance meetings with students and families to address concerns and lend support, and in some cases,  we will be conducting home visits to do this as well.
• The first step toward school success is attendance. You cannot be successful in school if you are not showing up. Please reach out to us so that we can set up a plan to best support you and your student(s).
• Please note that while it is good practice to make your student’s homeroom teacher aware of any absences or appointments, it is most important that you are contacting the main office of the school each and any time that your student is going to be absent. Also, please make sure to forward all doctor’s notes and other absent notes to our main office. Thank you!
  • Please click the link here to be connected to an updated district attendance policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AWglC4E6i12t0XcDfnpZJtOtt-xb8V_RBq4djELxd5g/edit?usp=sharing

• Wi-Fi Issues: If you are having WiFi issues at home and your student cannot log onto a Google Meet at the moment, please email the teacher or call the school so an office staff member can pass the info onto the teacher. Teachers take attendance every period and when a student does not show up for class, they don’t necessarily know that the student is having a tech issue.

PTO UPDATES

Our next PTO meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 4/14 from 6:00-7:30pm via Zoom. We are always looking to welcome new members!

JG Whittier PTO is now listed as a charity on AmazonSmile.  What does this mean?  You shop. Amazon gives. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Support your charitable organization by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com. Please support JG Whittier PTO by using the following link when you shop,  https://smile.amazon.com/ch/90-0135139 or by selecting John Greenleaf Whittier PTO as your charity of choice.

AmazonSmile customers can now support John Greenleaf Whittier Middle School PTO in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.

1. Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device
2. Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into ‘Settings’
3. Tap ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process

If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app, update your app. Click here for instructions.

To see the impact of your marketing, visit the AmazonSmile Metrics Dashboard for John Greenleaf Whittier Middle School PTO. Simply log in at org.amazon.com and click the “View metrics” button.

CLUB NEWS:

NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY (NJHS): Thank you to all that participated in the popcorn fundraiser it was a huge success! The school made over their anticipated goal, which means EVEYONE will enjoy a free slush at lunch time on the National Junior Honor Society.  Please stay tuned for more details.  I also want to congratulate our top 3 sellers:   Taylor LaRoche, Gavin Gaetano, and our top seller Alyssa Giarrusso great job and stay tuned for your prize!  Our next meeting is Wednesday March 31st at 3 pm.  

JR VIP: We will have a meeting after school on Monday, March 22nd at 3:00 pm on Google Meets.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

HYBRID MODEL

GRADE 5:

Mrs. Sanguedolce: In math, we will continue to work on Topic 7:  Use Equivalent Fractions to Add and Subtract Fractions. In social studies, we will continue to explore Chapter 7:  A Growing Nation.

Ms. Delong: Science- Our scientists are studying mixtures by identifying and classifying physical changes and chemical changes. We will be taking copper oxide off of pennies, and have discussed the reaction of baking soda and vinegar as some chemical changes. 

Science All-Stars: Alex Dalphin (Yellow), Aiden Comeau (Red), Jaizeah Cerda (Orange)

Social Studies- Our historians are jumping into the founding documents of our country. They will be discovering why the Articles of Confederation were so weak, the moves made by the Federalists to adopt the Constitution, and the growing pains that America went through now that it is a free nation. Students are integrating scenes from the musical Hamilton into their study of this time period.

Social Studies All-Star: Jacob Cloutier (Yellow)

Mrs. LaCoste: In ELA this week, your fifth graders have been hard at work gaining a deeper understanding of biography and why biographies might be written about some people.  Coming up next, students will choose and collect information on a biography of their choice.  They’ll write an informative paper about the information they collect.  In grammar, students have continued to identify prepositions and even add to their writing by adding prepositional phrases.  

In Orange social studies, students have completed their chapter 5 test on the Revolutionary War and we’ve begun Chapter 6 : Forming a New Government.  This chapter exposes students to the Articles of Confederation and why the ideas for government weren’t successful.  It also covers the Constitution and how and why it was ratified.  The concepts are rather mature, but the students seem to be clear in their understanding, thus far!  

Ms. Lees: It’s almost Spring! In ELA Orange group will begin a new genre for reading and a new writing piece. It’s all about fractions in Math and Mixtures of Matter in Science. In Social Studies we will explore the Making of a Nation after the Revolutionary War. Students who have been given a LexiaCore5 log-in should be working at least 45 minutes a week in the program. Parents- iReady Math and Reading are also terrific programs to use in free time. Remember that Ms. Lees posts on Classroom Pages when she and Ms. Kelly are in a google classroom to help complete assignments and clarify lessons on remote Wednesdays. Please join! Before and after school time is available too – remember to ask!

GRADE 6:

Mrs. Hamel: SS: This week we began to take a deeper look into the Mayan and Aztec early civilizations. We took time to see how the developed and what contributions they have added to our world- things we still see and do today. Ask your student about “The Ball Game” and for a great family night idea- watch the movie “The Road to El Dorado”!!

Next week, we will continue to explore Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Islands while concentrating on these areas in today’s world and how geography continues to impact their daily lives.

Science: We are continuing our exploration into the Cell. This week our students created their very own “Cell City” and next week we will be taking a look at how these projects turned out- perhaps you have a future architect, mayor or builder in your home! We are also looking into the differences between bacteria and virus- ask your students what they have learned this week so next week they continue their love of learning, growing and sharing!

Mr. Taylor: Things we hope to accomplish, but as we know, plans can always change. 
Onto similar things! We will continue to be working on grammar and exploring our persuasive essays. 

Ms. Sargent: 6th grade Mathematicians will continue to work on inequalities.  They are moving forward from solving inequalities to graphing them.  

Some helpful reminders:  Practice, Practice, Practice your multiplication facts….you will be glad you did!!!!  Also, weekly computation tests should be done on paper and a filled out answer key should be sent to me each Wednesday.  

Mrs. Guisti: Students in Mrs. Guisti’s and Mrs. Cronin’s small group and online support class continue to have time set aside to ask questions and get support at 12:05 while remote and in person in their classes.  In math we started working on inequalities.  In ELA we are working on developing ideas for persuasive writing.  Please remember to do iReady math for 45 minutes each week and iReady, Lexia, and/or Read Live for reading for 45 minutes every Wednesday.

GRADE 7:

Mrs. Berthiaume: In ELA, we are moving forward with MCAS practice.  In Social Studies, students are learning more about ancient Greece.  We took a slight detour on St. Patrick’s Day (Wednesday) and students encountered a little Irish mythology, specifically about the warrior Cú Chulainn, who has powers very similar to well-known, modern-day superheroes! 

Mrs. Trombly: Ms. Trombly‘s math classes are continuing to work on their geometry unit we will be starting triangles next week. Science has started a new unit on the water cycle

Mr. Yanoff: ​The second trimester is almost finished red and yellow teams.  Check School Brains and make sure you have completed your assignments!  We are on roll, as this week we will be completing solving two-step inequalities and completing our work in the chapter. Next? Geometry! Roll on Poets!

Mrs. MacKinnon/Mrs. Lane: Math: Grades are getting ready to close.  Please ask your students if they have completed all of their work? The students will have a test on Topic 4 next.   

Science:  Grades are getting ready to close.  Please ask your students if they have completed all of their work? They will have a test on natural hazards next.

Ms. DiGloria: This week in Blue and Green ELA, students will be continuing to work with nonfiction and informational text, our new unit. We will be learning about a variety of different reading skills and completing a lot of practice with informational texts. This week will be a focus on Author’s Purpose and making predictions. In Social Studies, we will continue learning about Athens and Sparta and students will start a brochure project that will take us into next week. Grades close this Thursday, March 25th so please check to see what your student is missing and encourage them to turn in late work. 

Ms. Bilmazes: Ms. Bilmazes- grade 7 Academic Support.  Students have been working diligently in their classes. Make sure to keep up on assignments and ask for help, as grades close on March 25. Yellow group is continuing to work on MCAS practice, consisting of multiple choice and essays, in preparation for upcoming testing   Green group is finishing up Annabelle Lee and working on nonfiction. Can’t wait to see the various costumes next week!

GRADE 8:

Mr. Lewis: In English, we are finishing up our 5 paragraph essays. Students have picked a subject that is age and school appropriate, something they are hopefully interested in and passionate about. As we have written, we have completed an essay guide for the students to follow. This can be found on our Google Classroom.

Civics has begun learning about the legislative branch and how Congress is organized.

Ms. Deblasis: In Math, we will be continuing our topic on Using Functions to Model Relationships.

In Science, we will be studying Physical and Chemical Properties of Substances. 

Mr. Blaustein: Green & Blue ELA: During the week of 3/22-26 we will complete our study of Raymond’s Run by taking out test and writing an essay. : Term 2 closes: Friday the 26th. Please hand in all missing assignments ASAP! Don’t forget to put your time into iReady!

Green & Blue Civics: This week we will focus our attention of the 5 Principles of the Constitution. It is the last Lesson in Chapter 3 so we will begin to prepare for the Chapter test. Next, we will be focusing on the District mandated DBQ [Document Based Questions] assignment.

Ms. Sullivan: In Math, we will be continuing our topic on Using Functions to Model Relationships.

In Science, we will be studying Physical and Chemical Properties of Substances. 

Ms. Senior: Grade 8 ELA students are making story maps for “Raymond’s Run” and writing personal essays with an emphasis on what a thesis is comprised of, while Mathematics students are learning about linear and nonlinear equations via the Y and X axis.

SPECIALISTS:

Physical Education: (Mr. Demarais): Trimester 2 is winding down.  We were finally able to get back outside on Tuesday for an entire class!  Hopefully, the weather continues to cooperate, and we can remain outside.  Please continue to dress for the weather as we will be outside for our 1 mile walks to begin our classes.  

Health (Mrs. Reynolds): Health – This is our last week of Health classes for Term 2. We will be finishing up units by playing review games and completing our work to achieve great grades this term.

Music (Mr. Gariepy): Hello Whittier Middle School!! Grades close on Thursday March 25th. I made a phone call home to all students who are in danger of failing my class. The project that they turned in this week will help their grades (Grades 6-8), and the extra credit on Google Classroom will replace 3 missing assignments over the trimester. Thank you for your continued support in keeping the kids on track!!

REMOTE LEARNING ACADEMY

GRADE 5:

Ms. MacDonald: Beware of chemical reactions at home! We have been identifying chemical reactions in class and now it is time to design our own experiments. Students have been working in groups to design an experiment in which they will mix two substances together to determine if a chemical reaction took place or not. On Monday, they will put their experiments to the test! Students should find a flat workspace where they can keep their Chromebooks safely away from their experiment. I will also make sure I approve the substances that students are using. Safety first for our future scientists! 

In social studies we’ve moved on to the Revolutionary War. Students are tasked at building a timeline of important events that took place throughout the Revolutionary War. We will be talking about the Declaration of Independence this week! 

Ms. Duquette: Students have been working on identifying the elements of biographies.  We have also been working on identifying and analyzing metaphors.  It is important that students continue to read independently each day for at least 20 minutes.  This is part of their student responsibility and is critical in their progress as readers.  All students have been provided with several resources to find books for their independent reading if they do not have any at home.  Please remind your child to read daily!

Ms. Spadaro: This week, we reviewed Topic 9 and students took the Topic 9 Assessment. Grades are available to view on Google Classroom. Next week, we will start Topic 11, which is finding the volume of three-dimensional shapes. 

Students should continue to work on their math fact fluency using Reflex Math. They are responsible for earning the “green light” each school day!

GRADE 6:

Ms. Consolazio: In social studies class, we are continuing Chapter 4 Lesson 2.   Students are learning about the Neolithic Age and the agricultural revolution. There will be an assessment on this chapter.   It is very important that students take notes in class.  Reminder, to access the textbook please go into ClassLink.  The textbook is red and labeled McGraw Hill. 

In science class, we will continue learning about plant and animal cells.  Later in the week we will learn about the body systems.  Just a reminder, participation and attendance are very important to be successful in class.  

Mrs. Simes: In math, students continue to work within Topic 4.  This week, we will begin to understand that variables represent quantities that change in relationship to one another.  All students should continue to access their i-Ready individualized paths on Monday and Thursday during Success Block.  Also, intervention groups continue to meet during the week.  In science, students shared their work chosen from their choice board, what a great job!  This week, students will make a hand model to show how our hand moves.  I will be sending home a list of 4 materials needed.  Students will then begin to understand which systems work together to move materials in our body.  After school help will be on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at michele.simes@haverhill-ps.org.  Have a nice weekend.

Ms. Riley: It is hard to believe it is almost April! The students have been working hard and I am pleased with their efforts. In ELA, we just finished writing essays about familiar fictional characters focusing on a particular claim. We used a special graphic organizer to structure this writing. We also discussed different character traits. Next week, we will start biographies.  It would be appreciated if students could read at home, even for a few minutes daily. (comic books, magazines, anything…) As a reminder, grades close next week, please ensure your child looks at SchoolBrains in particular and Google Classroom for any missing assignments.

GRADE 7:

Ms. Marciano: ELA: We are continuing our nonfiction unit and will be reading news articles about current events. We will also be focusing on citing text evidence when responding to these articles.

SCIENCE: We are finishing Unit 9: Natural Hazards this week. Students will complete an open response (CER) and take the unit assessment.

Mr. LeGrand: Math:  Students will work on applying the Distributive Property to expand linear expressions and use area models to solidify their understanding of the Distributive Property.   

Social Studies:  Students will know that there are many ethnicities and languages in Southeast Asia, and that most people in Southeast Asia live in rural areas today, though industry is helping cities to grow.   

GRADE 8:

Mr. Harris: Math – we are continuing on in our Functions unit after a review.  Students will continue to apply the concepts they have learned, as well as blend Function learning with Equations.

Science – we are still on our Climate Change unit.  Students have been working hard to break down different resources, and will soon begin to write their CERs, using these resources as evidence

Mr. Marinella: ELA– This past week ELA has been working on a Graphic Organizer that will become our Argumentative Essay. Students have been working on selecting a topic, researching arguments, finding Pros and Cons, and putting it all into a readable package. Check out your student’s graphic organizer and check their progress! Rough drafts should be started very soon. This is a great opportunity to get some high grades in before term ends but can conversely be a time when students’ grades drop because of the weight of these assignments!   

Civics– Civics has moved into the Civil Rights movement, a time when people in the country were fighting for basic liberties, rights, and respects. We will be looking at the major leaders and events, and the laws that help bring an end to Jim Crow and legal segregation. Civics will also be starting the Civics Project in the coming days. This is a district wide research project where students will explore a topic or issue that is important to them and they want to see changed. 

Ms. Blanchette: The end of March is right around the corner and trimester 2 is coming to an end. Please make sure your child is completing any outstanding assignments. Attendance and participation in google meet classes is mandatory. Extra help sessions are offered throughout the week, please look at my google classroom for more information. Reach out to me or your child’s teachers if you have any questions. Have a great week!

Health: RLA grade 7   We will finish our Cyberbullying unit 

              RLA grade 8   We are continuing on with Violence Prevention

SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF

Guidance (Mrs. Vlahos): Over the next few weeks, the 8th grade course registration process will be underway for Haverhill High School. Eighth grade teachers will be inputting course level recommendations and 8th grade students and families will be receiving information on course options and electives available to them at Haverhill High.  Stay tuned for more information on high school course registration as it is forthcoming soon! If you have any questions regarding the course registration process, please connect with me via email at jvlahos@haverhill-ps.org. I continue to be available to connect with and support all students and families throughout the school week via Google Meet, email and by phone.  If desired, please email me to connect and request a check in and I will coordinate a meeting with you.  I look forward to continued work with you in support of a healthy, safe, and successful school year! 

Student Support Coordinator (Mr. Newell): I am available for help with chrome books, attendance concerns and everything in general. Please contact me at jonathan.newell@haverhill-ps.org

Student Adjustment Counselor (Mrs. Midolo): Next week we will focus on the meaning of empathy by highlighting that our detractions are also our gifts.  The lesson introduces a simple ethical framework of the 4 Awesome Questions: Is it true?  Is it fair? Will it build better friendships and community? Will it be helpful to those involved?   This lesson provides audio that is paced with the text and follows up with open-ended questions to promote Social Emotional Learning and Critical Thinking.

Please continue to encourage your child to attend our weekly social groups. The link and times to “google meets” can be found on our google classroom page. 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me @ tmidolo@haverhill-ps.org.

Stay safe and be well!

Middle School Support Program (Mrs. Leydon & Mr. Diffin): Grades close this coming week, so please double check all Google Classrooms for any and all missing work. Reach out to us with any questions or concerns. We are always available through the MSSP Google Classroom for students and/or through e-mail. 

Parent Liaison (Ms. Arias-Reyes): Quiero dejarles saber que continúo estando disponible para ayudar a las familias de JGW. Si tienen alguna pregunta o preocupación no duden en contactarme.  Mi número de teléfono es (781) 666-4085 y la dirección de correo electrónico es maria.ariasreyes@haverhill-ps.org. 

Student Support Center (Mrs. Greenwood): We are excited for those of you who will be returning to school in person. For those of you who will be continuing on in RLA, remember the SSC is open every day on google meet. 

THE HOURS 9:00-11:30 and 1:00-2:30 EVERYDAY.

Reading Coach/Interventionist (Mrs. Guthrie): Literacy News-

The 5th graders are invited to join the JGW book club! Click on the link to read about it.  

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Id6RmaojQoeCcvDq64cnOpVU3g_jxZv2G5FE6IyqSVU/edit?usp=sharing